Sarah vs the Illness Clause
by AQotL
Summary: Apparently, the CIA has a special "illness clause" - Sarah Walker is never, ever allowed to go on missions while sick. That rule might need some revising after Sarah is left to her own devices for a week while on sick leave. Poor Chuck. R&R.


_Hello readers!_

_So, this is a little idea that's been bouncing around in my head for quite a while. I loved the idea the moment I thought of it, but I was much too busy with other stories to actually start writing it down. However, when I tried working on another one of my stories last night and couldn't come up with any good material, I decided to finally give this a try. The result was almost an entire chapter, and a bunch of new ideas for material in this little story. _

_This is another one of my "Sarah tries to act like a normal person… sort of" tales (like my two Black Friday stories). I always have so much fun writing about Sarah when she tries non-spy things, and I didn't want to wait until Black Friday to write another one of those little stories. So, that's how I came up with this idea. I'm thinking about making this six or seven chapters long (my current plan is six), so it's a little bit longer than my previous stories._

_Since I finished this first chapter so quickly, and since we have a two-week Chuck hiatus, I decided to post this story. The hiatus was the main reason for posting, since I won't have to worry about following the show's timeline for a few weeks. So, for now I'm saying this takes place after "Chuck vs. the Muuurder" (I actually had to check and see how many 'u's I needed for that). _

_Well, I'll leave it at that. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Chuck. However, I suppose it's not too early to start thinking about birthday gifts, so…_

**Sick Agent Walking**

Sarah Walker was dying.

Well, she assumed she was. How else could she explain the agonizing pain in her head? Not to mention the queasy feeling in her stomach. _That _definitely wasn't normal.

With a groan, she forced her eyes open, only to recoil at the sudden brightness. A sharp pain shot across her sinuses once more, and she wondered if she had accidentally fallen asleep on top of one of her knives. It wouldn't be the first time (granted, it _would _be the first time she actually impaled her forehead with one), and it was the most plausible possibility so far.

"Sarah?" Chuck whispered gently from the other side of the bed, sitting up so he could get a better look at her. "Hey, Sarah, you okay?"

Another loud groan of misery was the reply, soon followed by another complaint. "Sinuses. My sinuses are imploding."

Chuck gulped. This was not a good sign. Carefully, he maneuvered his body next to Sarah's and placed a hand on her forehead. "You're hot," he remarked, pulling away a moment later.

"As much as I appreciate the flattery, it's not helping," the blonde lamented, moaning once more as she buried her face in the pillow. Maybe, if she just didn't breathe, that godforsaken ache would go away.

"No, no, I'm serious–you're burning up. I can feel the heat radiating off of you over here, and it's very uncomfortable."

"_You_ think it's uncomfortable? I'm the one being sautéed by my own body!" Sarah cried, jerking upright. However, the sudden motion caused an increase in pressure on her already ailing sinuses, and she sank back down into the pillow with a whimper.

The curly-haired nerd paused and stared at his fiancée, unsure of his next move. Finally, he slid out from under the covers and announced, "Here, let me go get you some juice. It might make you feel better."

"Can you pour it in my mug?" was the muffled response. "The red one?"

"Will do, milady," Chuck said, planting a quick kiss on the back of Sarah's head (for her face was currently engulfed by the pillow) before exiting the room.

It took him five minutes to finally find Sarah's requested red mug. Despite how often she used it, it got shoved in the very back of the cabinet. He pulled it out–orange juice jug in hand–and looked it over with a grin. He still remembered how excited Sarah had been when she found the mug at the airport gift shop after one of their missions and knew she just had to buy it. On top of the bright red ceramic, the words "Get your own geek!" were painted in white bubble letters. Sarah later made a modification of her own, crossing out "geek" and scrawling "nerd" underneath it in permanent marker. The marker was beginning to fade, though, so Chuck made a mental note to retouch the correction.

He was just putting the juice carton away, the filled mug balancing in his hand, when an electronic beep came from the living room.

_"Hello, Chuck,"_ General Beckman greeted firmly. The nerd in question jumped at the sudden appearance, nearly sending Sarah's drink flying. The Intersect kicked in before that could happen, and the mug was safely back in his hand without spilling any of its contents.

"Honestly, General, I think we need to rethink this whole 'house calls' idea," he said, setting the mug on the counter before heading over to the TV. "It's a little creepy. And especially now that Sarah and I are, well, 'getting hitched', there might be certain times when dropping in like this will be… awkward. On both fronts."

Beckman seemed to consider this proposition. _"Your concerns are duly noted, Agent Bartowski. Just try to avoid any of your 'awkward' situations down in Castle. I need to get ahold of you and the rest of your team somehow." _She paused, waiting for Chuck to accept her compromise. When he nodded, she continued. _"Are you and Agent Walker prepared for your latest mission? Your flight leaves in two hours."_

Chuck slapped his forehead at the mention of the mission. "Oh, man, I almost forgot! I'm sorry, General, it slipped my mind. With Sarah not feeling well…" He trailed off, warily glancing behind him. He turned back to the expectant woman on the TV screen before adding, "General, I don't think Sarah will be able to make this mission. She woke up this morning complaining about her sinuses, and from what I could tell, she's running a fever, so…"

_"Agent Bartowski, are you telling me that Agent Walker is sick?" _Beckman asked, eyeing the human Intersect sternly. When he nodded affirmatively, she shifted in her seat and reached for something on her desk. _"That's what I thought. All right, then. As of now, Agent Walker is benched…"_

A shrill cry of, "NO!" burst out from the hallway, and Sarah came bolting in like a banshee. She scrambled over to the living room and screeched to a halt right in front of the screen.

"General, no, you can't do this," she pleaded. "We've had this mission planned for weeks–you can't cut me out now! I'm fine, really! Just a little…" she broke off and brought a hand to her forehead, which was now throbbing. _Damn sinuses. _

_"Agent Walker, I believe you and Director Graham had this discussion before," _the general said, her voice hard. _"You are not to go on any missions when you are sick."_

Sarah dropped her hand from her head, finally realizing that the action killed the majority of her argument. "But General, it's just a little head cold. Nothing to worry about." Just as she said that, she felt her cheeks burn, but not from mortification. _Fever, fever, go away. Let me spy sometime today. _

_ "Agent Walker, need I remind you of the Copenhagen operation of 2006?" _Beckman cut back in, narrowing her eyes at the illness-stricken blonde. _"You claimed you had 'a little head cold,' but still went ahead and tried to retrieve the intel. It wasn't until you returned to Langley and saw an Agency doctor that you learned you had pneumonia, and had infected your entire team! Agent Miller's boss at the DEA nearly took out Director Graham's secretary when the agent returned from the mission with a 103__ fever, Agent Anderson was forced to take a medical leave until he could fill out paperwork without hacking mucus onto the files, and Agent Larkin is dead!"_

"Hey, I had nothing to do with that!" Sarah shouted defensively, just as Chuck muttered skeptically, "Or is he?"

The copper-haired woman on the screen shook her head. _"Agent Walker, you will not be joining your teammates on this mission. That's final. You are to stay at home and recuperate for the week. You are not to go down to Castle and try to oversee the mission from there, nor are you allowed to contact your former partners to help you rejoin your team. They are fully aware of this 'illness clause,' and Agent Miller's private helicopter has already been repossessed by the Agency in case she decides to disobey orders." _She turned to Chuck for a moment. _"Agent Bartowski, make sure Colonel Casey and Mr. Grimes are prepared to depart. Agent Walker, your sick leave commences immediately. Dismissed."_ The screen went blank.

The engaged couple remained silent after their superior terminated the connection, gaping uneasily at the TV. Finally, Chuck glanced at Sarah.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah," he murmured soothingly, about to pull the blonde into his arms. She held out a hand at this action, then turned around so she was facing Chuck and slumped against him.

"I'm under house arrest," Sarah wailed quietly, burying her face in her fiancé's shirt. She sniffled, the sound a little thicker due to her nasal congestion. "I… I can't even contact you."

Chuck vehemently shook his head, pulling away for a moment so Sarah could look him straight in the eye. "Hey, hey, she never said we couldn't stay in touch while I'm on the mission. I'll talk to Ellie and Awesome to have them check up on you during the day, but you can call me whenever you need to talk. And in case you're just too congested to talk, we can always use that tonal language from your undercover op. I just need to brush up on my translation skills so I can tell the difference between 'I miss you' and 'we need more cheese'."

Sarah attempted to give a little laugh, but instead reared back and let out a violent sneeze.

"Sorry," she apologized, smiling sheepishly as she glanced at Chuck's shirt. The white fabric had doubled as a handkerchief for the sneeze, and now needed to be washed.

Chuck looked down at the shirt as well, and hastily admitted, "You know, maybe it's for the best. Yeah, it might be good for you to stay home, rest up. We don't want to blow the plane off course with your projectile sneezing."

_This marks the end of Chapter One. Depending on how fast I can write it, Chapter Two should be out next weekend. _

_Oh, and the quote on Sarah's mug comes from one of my favorite movies–_The Librarian. _I've watched the first movie of that series so many times (there's actually quite a few parallels to Chuck, now that I think about it), and that line just came to my mind as I was writing this._

_Reviews would be lovely! Favorite parts, anyone?_

_AQotL_


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